John Michael Talbot,
Troubadour For The Lord

Born into a musical Methodist
household in Oklahoma City in 1954, John Michael Talbot was strumming the
guitar by the age of 10. Five years later, he had dropped out
of school and was performing on stage in fringed buckskin as a
 guitarist for Mason Proffit, a popular country folk/rock band
formed with his older brother Terry.   Mason Proffit shared the stage with some of
the hottest bands of the 1960's and 70's.  His group
was one of the forerunners of country rock and had shared the stage with some of the
biggest acts of the day, including The Byrds,
Poco, Pink Floyd and The Grateful Dead. The band produced five
albums and the music had a great message to share, unfortunately too many never heard.
Perhaps the time was not yet right for the crowds to receive the love of Christianity.

Talbot, who never did drugs, recalls the evening of one
concert where the band had shared the stage with Janis Joplin.
He watched her backstage as she
downed bottles of Southern Comfort like it was soda pop. The
sight seized him deeply, and when the concert was over he
walked back onto the empty stage. Looking out over the arena
 floor, he was shocked to see, lying before him a sea of bottles,
beer cans and drug paraphernalia littered as far as he could see.
"I remember looking out over a big arena floor and seeing the
whole floor littered with empty wine and whiskey bottles and drug paraphernalia."
"Suddenly," he recalls, "the rock star life seemed empty and
sad. It wasn't at all what I wanted my life to stand for."  It was a
prophetic experience for the eighteen year old, one that caused him to
question his whole lifestyle as he began to ask, "Isn't there something more?"

Up to that point he had rubbed shoulders with the rock stars he admired and emulated. He
shared stages and dressing rooms with them, which gave him an insider's view of the rock
scene. After meeting some of his heroes and seeing how they really lived their lives, Talbot
 came to an inescapable conclusion. "There were some real tragic scenarios being played out,"
he says, "and it caused me to stop cold and do some serious thinking."

That thinking led to a revelation the night that he stood on the Ozark stage. It was a profound
moment that caused him to reconsider the choices he had made. As a result, Talbot left Mason
Proffit and embarked on a profound spiritual journey.
He spent almost four years praying and searching for answers.
He read sacred and philosophical texts, exploring everything
from Native American religions to Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism
and Christianity. He worked on a farm in Indiana selling
vegetables during the day and studying the world's religions at
night, until finally, in a singular moment, it all became clear to him.

"I won't call it a visionary experience," Talbot maintains, "but I saw a Christ figure.
I knew it was Jesus, and He made everything personalized for me."

His conversion initially led him into Fundamentalism and eventually
to the Jesus Movement. He studied all Christian denominations and
found that Catholicism spoke to his heart. "It wasn't just some vague
yearning," he recalls. "I saw a life in Christ, in harmony and in peace."

"As a secular musician I remember trying to do spiritual things
without really knowing it. Now as a Christian musician," he
explains, "I've honed my craft, writing music that flows out of prayer
and becomes sacred."

Talbot believes that sacred music is sacramental and, from an arts
perspective, both reflects and guides the faithful. That music, based
   on faith, can take the listener on a closer walk with God, actually
taking them into the heart of the Lord. "It brings out the mysterious
 and speaks the unspeakable, bringing to light that which is beyond
 human reason. Furthermore," he says, "the role of music and prayer
fulfills a prophetic function. Not that musicians are prophets," he
notes, but they do have an obligation to lead."

None of Talbot's musical successes, however, come
close to what many consider his greatest
accomplishment. Inspired by the life of St. Francis of
Assisi, he sold everything he owned and joined a
secular Franciscan order in 1978. He built a hermitage
in the woods and fashioned a monk's habit from used
army blankets. "At first, I planned to live a life of quiet
meditation as a hermit," he recalls, " but as I studied the
history of the church, I saw that community had always
 been a part of it." As a result, he founded a house of prayer called "The Little Portion" to share
with others his love of Jesus.

In 1982, he, along with six others, moved to an area near Eureka Springs,
Arkansas and founded The Little Portion Hermitage. "I had
sold everything," he recalls, "my home, car, even most of my
clothes, but I couldn’t get anyone to buy 25 acres of land I
had bought in the Ozarks while on tour with Mason Proffit. It
turned out that God had a purpose for it."

Visitors to the Franciscan monastery began to recognize John Michael Talbot as a man of God
and gathered with him to pray, meditate and seek the Holy Spirit. He welcomed them and led
prayer with songs he had arranged from ancient scriptures and sacred writings. He created
musical celebrations out of his love for early church music and the music of the Medieval and
Renaissance eras.

Today, his community, The Brothers and Sisters of Charity,
has about 40 members in Arkansas and another 500
worldwide. The Brothers and Sisters of Charity is the only
community of it’s kind in North America with canonical status
from the Catholic Church. It has been formally recognized as a
Public Association of the Faithful and is one of 10 communities
around the globe to encompass celibate brothers and sisters,
as well as single people, married couples and families. Though
the latter are permitted greater latitude, the essentials are the
same. All take vows of chastity, poverty and obedience
appropriate for their state of life.

While Talbot’s music career is a benevolent benefactor of the
Brothers and Sisters of Charity, the community is largely
self-supporting. It grows much of it’s own food, catches fish
 from a lake on the 250-acre property, and raises pigs, rabbits,
chickens and cows. It also sells it’s naturally-grown produce locally.

The work of The Brothers and Sisters of Charity includes
providing assistance to nearly anyone in need. In the tradition
 of St. Francis of Assisi, they regularly knock on doors in
 nearby towns seeking to help. Recently, Talbot has also been
combining itinerant Prayer walks -- where he and others travel
from town to town ministering to anyone who needs help,
taking with them no money or food, and with no arrangements
 for a place to stay. On a grander scale, the community is a
major supporter of Mercy Corps International, which
conducts emergency relief missions in countries such as Africa,
Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia.

Talbot’s music has evolved from his early rock styling toward
a more reflective, meditative ballad style which combines his
rich tenor vocals with sophisticated classical guitar playing. He
is known for creating albums designed for worship as well as
quiet, meditative recordings. His music is truly Sacred. His newest project, The Pathway
series, is a group of six instrumental albums designed to bring
the listener before the throne of God through quiet contemplation.

Talbot's goal today is to curb that chaos and spread the word to
as many people as possible through his music, books, videos, retreats, and concerts. "People
are frightened and confused because society is degenerating at an alarming rate," he proclaims,
"and I sense a hunger for spirituality because our values are crumbling and, God help us, even
our churches and communities are falling apart."

When not on the road, Talbot can be found at his Eureka
Springs retreat, praying, meditating and remembering that he’s
a monk first, a troubadour second. "You can’t get too big a
head living in a place like this," he says. "A Christian
community is like sandpaper. There are too many brothers and
sisters who call you on the carpet if you get a little haughty."
 

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